


Leave, or be Left

by Namoni_Heartflau



Category: Undertale (Video Game)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Underfell (Undertale), Alternate Universe - Underswap (Undertale), F/M, Genocide Run, I do not own Underswap, I'll try my best to stay true to the characters though promise, I'm referencing a lot of fandom wiki for this, It's also not going to be your usual Swap or Fell stories, Neutral Run, No update schedule because I'm lazy, Or don't, WARNING SPOILERS IN THE TAGS YOU HAVE BEEN WARNED, Wash Your Hands, Y/N is a girl, a few headcanons, and using a lot of headcanons that I like better, bear with me, because I have no clue what I'm doing, comments are appreciated but not paid for so comment if you want, if you do though then you'll be feeding my inner creative author, keep an eye on archive warnings, neutral pronouns are hard to keep track of, or Underfell, please feed him, will update relationships when it comes, yes there will be love in the air
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-03-21
Updated: 2020-04-08
Packaged: 2021-02-28 18:21:10
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 6
Words: 9,845
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23241664
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Namoni_Heartflau/pseuds/Namoni_Heartflau
Summary: Y/N and Chara find their way into the underground and get adopted by the monsters there. Not everyone is happy about this. Angst (or an attempt at it). Years later, the underground is thrown into chaos and the skelebros send Y/N away in hopes that she'll be in a safer place until things settle down. It's not a safer place though, and Y/N has to survive all on her own in a world that reminds her all over again that it's everyone for themselves.*It's not a great summary, I'll try to fix it later, I'm too tired right now and I've been trying to post this for an hour*
Relationships: Underswap Chara & Yn, Underswap Papyrus & Sans & Yn
Kudos: 6





	1. Chapter 1

In this world, it’s leave or be left. That is what Y/N L/N learned at the tender age of five. Was it fair? No. But it’s just how life was, she figured. Afterall, why else would she have been left at the park by herself? 

It went like this: she had woken up and their mom had made them breakfast. Dad had left already, he’d been gone for years and mom said he wasn’t going to come back. But that was beside the point; Y/N had her mom and that’s all she needed! So anyway, she ate her cereal and then watched the tv while mom took another nap. She had been doing that a lot, she was so lazy in Y/N’s opinion. There was so much she could be doing! She did look very tired all the time though, so maybe she was sick? Y/N didn’t know.

Later that day, mom had come out and stared at Y/N for a very long time before she finally noticed her. When she did, she said that she was taking them to the park today! Y/N loved the park, so she was very excited to put their shoes on and race outside to the car. The drive was pretty good, but mom didn’t put on any music, so it was kind of boring too. 

“Y/N,” Mom’s quiet voice startled her out of her intense staring contest with the clouds in the sky. 

“Yes, momma?” Mom didn’t say anything back. Maybe she forgot that she was going to say something? She does that sometimes, so Y/N just shrugged and went back to looking at the sky. 

The park was so full of children when she finally arrived! Y/N threw herself out of the car when it was parked and bolted towards the nearest group to join whatever game they were playing. It was so fun! They all climbed the monkey bars, and hid under the slides. There was a game of tag and a treasure hunt when one of the kids showed off their large bag of candy he brought. 

Children came and went, but mom never called for Y/N. Maybe she was eating her smelly candy sticks in the car like she does sometimes. Y/N had asked her if she could try it one time, but she just laughed and told them that it was very bad for their health. She said she ate them because she helped her not feel pain; Which Y/N couldn’t see how that could be bad, but moms know best. 

Eventually, the sun was going down. All of Y/N’s new friends went with their moms and dads to go home. Mom still didn’t call for Y/N though. She also couldn’t see the car either. Maybe she forgot what she was doing and went home? She does that sometimes. She will probably remember when she sees that Y/N doesn't come get dinner. Without a worry, Y/N sat on a bench where mom could see them when she comes back.

…  


It wasn’t cold. Summer nights here were really warm. Y/N was shaking for completely different reasons. She was hungry, she was tired, she was scared. With no real understanding of time, it felt like she had been there for hours and hours, mom still did not remember to come back. But she couldn’t go to sleep, maybe mom would be here any minute, she just had to wait a little bit longer. 

…

She woke up. It was still so dark. Mom was still not here. Or did she come and didn’t see them because she was laying down on the bench and didn’t hear her call for them? 

She looks up at the sky, the stars aren’t very bright because of the lights and after a second, they become even harder to see. They get all blurry, and then it starts raining. It’s just in her eyes though. She's not crying, it’s just raining from her eyes, and mom will be back any minute now. 

…  
“Hey, what are you doing?” 

Y/N wakes up and finds herself eye to eye with another kid, their red eyes burning with curiosity. The kid backs up a little to give them some space and Y/N looks around. It’s morning now, but the only people that were here were these two.

“I’m waiting for my momma.” 

“Have you been waiting for very long?” Their bobbed brown hair sways when they shift their feet. 

“I don’t know. We got here yesterday after lunch, I’m waiting for her to remember to come get me.” Y/N rubs her sore eyes and misses the deep frown the kid flashes at her.

“What’s your name?”

“Y/N, what’s yours?”

“I’m Chara.” Chara’s smile puts dimples in their rosy cheeks, “How old are you?”

“Five.” the toddler wraps her arms around her stomach and shivers when her stomach growls.

“Well I’m eight, so that makes me older than you. So that means you have to do what I say, since I’m older.” That makes sense to Y/N, eight-year-olds were very smart after all, “I’m going to go get us some food; come with me.” Chara grabs the smaller kid’s hand and drags them away from the park bench.

“But what about my momma? What if she comes back?” Y/N hesitantly tugs on her captured wrist. 

“She’s not coming back. It’s just what happens sometimes, people leave and they don’t come back. That’s what my mom and dad did, but it’s okay because I’ll take care of you and you’ll help me and we can be okay by ourselves! WE will leave the grown ups completely and live the way WE want to!!” Chara pumps a fist into the air, full of determination. 

Y/N thinks about mom and dad and wonders if maybe Chara is right.


	2. Chapter 2

Early morning sunbeams creep over the horizon, casting their warmth wherever they touch, turning a few things a breathtaking golden color while everything else takes on a sleepy blue hue. On such a morning, two small shapes huddle together under a pile of ratty blankets, hidden under a pile of soggy boxes, damp from last night’s precipitation. 

Y/N and Chara have been together for two years now. Y/N never saw mom again, Chara never saw any missing posters, they both settled down to the fact that they were what was left of whatever families they came from. This was fine though! Chara does very well being sneaky and taking things from people’s pockets, while Y/N is cute enough still to elicit pity tips from strangers passing her on the street. They use the meager money they recieve to buy bits of food, while any furniture or clothes they need can be found in a dump. 

This morning is a special morning, Chara thought to themself as they stirred awake and checked on the health status of their small charge. Y/N was still sleeping soundly, just like Chara wanted. Chara grabbed some chalk and wrote a simple note on the ground using pictures and a few words, telling her that they will be back later and not to worry. The 10-year-old then slips out of their home and wanders out into the city streets.

They had both moved to Ebbot City about a year ago, since it was a bigger place there were more places to hide from the police or people that wanted to place them into foster care. No thank you, Chara often says when the topic comes up. 

Y/N wakes up some time after the sun has fully risen and a few of the beams of light have broken through some holes in their home. She stretches and looks around for Chara, she spots the note and decifers it with some confusion. Chara doesn’t usually go out this early, and they usually take her with them when they do. For just a moment, the thought that they finally left her for good crosses her mind, but before she can start panicking, the “front door” opens and Chara pops in.

“Howdy! How did you sleep?” Their smile used to creep Y/N out, but now she can see the genuinity in it.

“Pretty good,” Y/N yawns out, “I had a dream that we were living in a huge house with soft beds and someone was making food that I could smell, but before I could go see who it was I woke up.” 

“That sounds like a nice dream, you must be hungry after that.” Chara grabs Y/N’s hand while talking and pulls her out of the house and down the alley. 

“I am pretty hungry.”

“Well don’t you worry! I have a really fun day planned for today, and it starts with breakfast.” They step out of the alley and onto a quiet street, it seems like nobody is really out today, it must be Sunday. 

“What’s the really fun plan for?” 

“Whaaat? Don’t tell me you forgot what day it is today!” Chara looks down at Y/N incredulously. Y/N just shakes her head, having no clue why today would be any different than any other day. “Well, that’s okay, let’s see if you remember before we get to the special surprise at the end.” The kids grin at each other excitedly. 

Their first stop was at a perfume shop. Chara led Y/N in behind two older women, and the children immediately ran to the back of the store where the clerk wouldn’t spot them right away. Their quiet giggles muffled behind their hands as they tried on all the bottles they could reach on the shelves. Eventually, the thick stench of wasted money reached the clerk and he chased them out with a rag. 

Y/N clutched Chara’s hand as they skipped to their next destination: a little water park. For once, adults in the area smiled fondly at the two kids as their playful screaming filled the air along with other children and couples enjoying a warmer afternoon. 

When they were well and truly soaked, Chara led them to the back of a little restaurant. Y/N watched curiously as they knocked on the door and it opened to show an old man carrying two boxes of food. 

“Hello, children. It’s nice to see you again.” He has kind eyes and a small smile as he hands the boxes to Chara’s waiting arms.

“Hi Mr. Benjamin!” Y/N waves up at him, “Why two boxes? Isn’t it usually just one?”

“Well yes, but Chara came over this morning to tell me that today was a special day, so I included something special in the second box this time.” 

“Thank you Mr. Benjamin, I bet our special day will be even better with this.” Chara grinned and took Y/N’s hand again to lead her away from the store with their food as Mr. Benjamin waves after them.

“What’s in the box, Chara?” Y/N stumbled over her little feet a couple times in her excitement to keep up with her friend.

“You’ll have to wait and see.” 

The two kids arrive at the park next and sit down under the slides to eat their food. Box number one was filled with noodles and the two went to work devouring the delicious strands. Before Y/N opened the second box though, Chara pulled it out of reach.

“Chara, don’t tease!” Y/N pouts at the older kid.

“You have to tell me you remember what’s special about today first.” Chara sticks their tongue out at her and holds the box farther away.

“I don’t remembeeeerrrr, give me a hint.” 

Chara tilts their head in thought, “OK, one hint: the park.” 

“The park?” Y/N echoes curiously and looks around. Why would the park be a hint? There’s nothing really special about it, it’s just a normal park kind of like the one mom left-

“OH! Is today our birthday??” She bounces hopefully while Chara’s grin grows wider with pride. Every year on the same day (or as close to it as Chara can guess) they celebrate the day they became a family since neither of them remember what day their actual birthdays are. 

“Yep! It really is! Good job for remembering this time. You always forget every year.” Chara finally gives Y/N the box.

“Well I don’t know when it comes, I just know you’ll always tell me. How old are we now?” 

“I am ten, you are seven. That means I’m STILL older than you.” Chara folds their arms in victory while their small friend groans in defeat.

“One day I’ll be older than you, I just know it!” Y/N shakes her little fist and Chara scoffs.

“Just open the box already.”

Y/N eagerly rips into it and gasps in delight when she sees the small chocolate cake hidden inside, “It’s your favorite!!” 

“Yep, I left this morning to go ask Mr. Benjamin to make it for us.” Chara starts drooling a little at the sight of the moist heaven awaiting her taste buds, “I paid him a little more than normal. Today was special after all.”

“But you came back right afterwards.” 

“Yeah I did.” Chara cuts the cake in half with the little plastic fork Mr. Benjamin always puts in the boxes, “Now, let’s celebrate. To family!” 

Y/N throws herself forward into a hug, “Happy birthday, Chara.”

“Happy birthday, kiddo.” 

The cake was just as good as they imagined.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Some notes about Chara and Y/N:
> 
> I don't read a lot of fanfics with Underswap Chara in them, so I don't know their personality very well. I looked it up and the site said that it depends on the type of run they do. So they're a nice kid with a determination to make things right, but if you read the tags you'll know what kind of run this will be so I'm letting that determine the things they do and how they react. Sorry if it's not like how you like it.
> 
> Fun fact: In every fanfiction I've read, I've never put my own name in Y/N. In my head it's always pronounced "why-en" and they're always their own person. So I have that same state of mind with this character. You absolutely can put yourself in their place if you want, that's just my train of thought when writing. I have decided on what kind of soul she has, but I'm not telling. You'll have to either guess or wait until I can't hold it in any longer. (I know an author or did this in one of my favorite fics and I hated/loved it so Imma do it to y'all


	3. Chapter 3

Y/N steps back to look at her handiwork. She was sick today so Chara told her to stay at home and rest, but laying in bed all day was too lazy for this nine-year-old so she had taken it upon herself to reorganize their house a little. She had fixed a few of the holes in their roof with some garbage she found, and put up a new flower blanket for their door instead of the old purple one. Actually, the whole ordeal shouldn’t have taken long at all, but all the coughing she did really made her tired so she had to go slow. Well, Chara should be back any time now to check on her, so she can ask their opinion on it then.

She crawls back inside their space. It’s gotten a little cramped since they’ve both been growing. Maybe they should try looking around for some more stuff later so they can expand a little bit. A coughing fit interrupts her musings, she sighs tiredly after it's over and lays down to try to sleep while waiting. She can’t wait to get better so Chara doesn’t have to worry so much. 

Chara has been working really hard to take care of them both. Mr. Benjamin offered them a little jobs like taking out the trash or washing the bowls so they can buy things like food, but it’s still not enough to get them a better home. Y/N is happy as long as Chara is there with her, but sometimes Chara says they want more. They don’t know how to get it though because they need to take care of Y/N. 

Chara wants to save money, but Y/N is always hungry and wants food. Chara wants to buy better kinds of food, but Y/N gets sick and needs medicine. Chara wants to move out of this city to get cleaner air, but Y/N doesn’t want to leave their home. It doesn’t seem like they want a lot of the same things anymore, but Chara is so nice to stay and take care of Y/N. She loves them a lot. 

The blanket moves to the side.

“Howdy, Chara. How was your day?” Y/N mumbles sleepily from her spot on the floor.

“Um…” The grown man voice startled Y/N into sitting straight up and hacking up another lung, “Woah, sorry, sorry! I wasn’t trying to scare you.” The voice retreats back outside, “Why don’t you come out here so I can see you.”

“Who- *cough cough* who are you??” Y/N calls out, not daring to move from her blankets for some stranger. 

“My name is Tanner. What’s yours?” He doesn’t sound scary, Y/N lets go of her blankets just a little. 

“Y/N… my big sibling is going to come back any moment so you better leave.” She tries to sound big and brave. Chara said that people shouldn’t find out that they live here. 

“Okay, what’s your sibling’s name? Maybe I can stay and meet them too.” Oh no, that would not be a very good idea at all. Chara doesn’t like to meet grown ups, Mr. Benjamin being an exception since he’s more like a grandpa.

“No. Go away.” Y/N coughs again and misses the sigh the man gives.

“It’s okay, I just want to say hi. It’s my job to meet all the little kids living on the street. I have to make sure they stay safe.” 

“We’re not living on the street, officer.” Chara’s voice sounds cold, Y/N can imagine she’s probably giving her creepy smile to the man. 

“Oh! You must be Y/N’s sibling! Are you two living here?” The man sounds like he’s probably giving a fake smile too, Y/N can tell these kinds of things. 

“I just said no. This is our clubhouse. Our mom and dad don’t like us talking to strangers, you should go away.”

“It’s getting kind of late, how about I walk you two home? Your sister doesn’t sound too good.” The blanket moves a little and Y/N can see Chara’s shoes through the gap. 

“No thank you. I can take care of her just fine.” 

“Okay,” his nice voice changes into a more serious one and Y/N gets anxious, “Look, I know you two are living here. I was told about two kids who’ve been living around here for a couple years, and your sister is sick. Why don’t you come with me to the station and we can get her some medicine.”

“No.” Sounds like Chara isn’t smiling anymore either.

“We’ve just created a very nice new program for kids like you. You’ll find nice foster families and you won’t have to take care of yourselves anymore. Doesn’t that sound nice?”

“No. Grown ups are all bad, we’ll grow up to be good and we’ll do it all by ourselves! Leave us alone now!” Y/N tries to hold in her coughs, too scared to break the tension building in the air. 

The man outside sighs loudly this time, like he’s getting frustrated, “I’m not taking no as an answer.” 

“Don’t touch me!” Sounds of hitting and kicking reach Y/N and she can’t hold herself back any longer. She launches herself outside and tackles the man who is holding her sibling. 

“Leave us alone!” Y/N shouts between coughs, holding onto his legs with all her strength and biting his ankles.

“Ow! Let go you brat!!” Y/N feels hands grab her waist and tug, she screams and chaos ensues. Chara throws themself into making the man let go of Y/N; the man fights to get Y/N off his ankles; and Y/N screams while holding on for her dear life. They all wrestle each other for what feels like hours to Y/N, and then everything stops suddenly.

“Hey! Stop, wait a minute.” The man reached out for Chara for a second before holding completely still, “Look, I’m not doing anything.” He sounds nervous.

“Y/N, come to me now.” Y/N looks up at Chara who is standing a few feet away from them. They’re pointing a gun at the man. Y/N quickly scrambles to their side. 

“Come on kid, look, don’t do anything you’ll regret later, okay?” The man puts his hands in the air and scoots back a little. 

“Go away. Now.” Chara’s voice is angry, and their eyes shine bright with what could only be determination. Y/N shakes at her sibling’s feet, too scared to cough. She watches the man nod slowly.

“Ok, look, I’m leaving, Ok?” The man doesn’t turn his back to them. He just slowly stands up and backs out of the alley.

It’s quiet for a very long time. 

“Go get a blanket. Just one. Then come grab my hand.” Chara puts a hand down near Y/N, eyes and gun never leaving the alley entrance. Y/N obeys without a word, rushing into the house and grabbing the biggest blanket they have, then clutches Chara’s hand. 

Chara slowly leads them out of the alley, always looking around in case the police officer was still around, or in case he came back with more officers. When they feel like they’re far enough away from the alley, they tuck the gun into their pants and start running with Y/N in tow.

Y/N coughs weakly and follows Chara through the streets, too scared to ask what was going on. All she can do is hold tightly to her sibling’s hand and try not to trip or drop the blanket. 

…

They ran for a long time, until Y/N was too tired to go on anymore. They had left the city and were now climbing a tall mountain.

“Chara, I’m tired. Can we please st-” She breaks off into a coughing fit and falls onto the ground tiredly. Chara finally stops and pats Y/N on the back.

“I’m sorry to push you so much. I don’t want the police to catch us. They’ll put us in different homes and we’ll never see each other again. You don’t want that, do you?” 

“N-no, but I’m so tired. Please, Chara, can we please rest?” Y/N curls up around her blanket.

“I want to keep moving, what if they come up here?” Chara tugs on the blanket. Y/N just coughs in response, “Fine. You stay here, I’ll go up a little more to look for someplace BETTER to sleep.” They drop the blanket and keep walking.

“W-wait, CHARA don- *cough cough* don’t leave me!” Y/N starts wailing in between coughs, “Don’t leave! I can’t keep going but don’t leave me!” 

Chara keeps walking for a little, then stops with a guilty pang in their soul. They look back at the little girl sobbing on the ground, one hand reaching out towards them. They sigh away the frustration and walk back.

“Come on, crybaby. Get on my back, I’ll carry you.”

“You’re not leaving?” Y/N unsuccessfully tries to sniffle away the snot.

“Of course not. Come on.” Chara pulls Y/N onto their back and continues up the mountain. 

…

Eventually, it gets so dark that Chara can’t see in front of their feet anymore. They keep going though, through the exhaustion, through Y/N’s difficult snoring, determination encourages their feet to continue moving. 

Chara’s eyelids start drooping too. They’re honestly not sure how long they can keep walking, but they need to at least find a comfortable place for Y/N to lay down to sleep. A cave would be great really, it smells like it might rain.

Just one more step, then they’ll stop. Just one more step, then they’ll sleep. Just one more step. Just one more- Honestly, they’re not sure if they lost the ground or their consciousness first, but then next thing they know, they’re falling. They just wish they hadn’t brought Y/N with them, she doesn’t deserve an early ending. She deserves so much more than they could ever give her.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Actually, whenever I read Chara saying "Don't touch me" I hear it in that guy's voice talking about wanting skittles at the store but not wanting to pay for them so the clerk tells him to put it back and he says "don't touch mEEEEE!" and it makes me giggle


	4. Chapter 4

Flowers, it smelled like flowers. Taking a deep breath, the dusty scent fills Y/N’s lungs and a smile follows the air on its way out. It smells heavenly! Their home has never smelled this good, maybe the flower blanket was a good idea for a new door. 

It’s also kind of cold though, where are the other blankets? Y/N runs her hands over the ground in search, but only feels plants? With a groan, she opens her eyes and stares up at the small bit of sky way above her. It’s dark otherwise. Looking around, she can’t see much of anything. Where is she? How did she get here? 

“Chara?” She sits up and feels around a little more, trying to find anything familiar.

“Y-Y/N??” Chara’s watery voice hiccups from somewhere to the right, “Are you alive?” 

“Y-yeah, I think so?” A cough forces its way out now that she’s more awake. Her eyes have adjusted now too so she can vaguely make out some shapes in the dark over in that direction. She’s a little startled when one of the shapes dart towards her, but then the comforting arms of her best friend wrap around her..

“Oh I’m so glad!” Chara bursts into tears and holds the little girl in their arms, “We fell down the hole and when I woke up I couldn’t find you and you weren’t saying anything so Ithoughtyouweredeeeaaad!” The two kids hold each other and cry for a while, just glad that they were both okay. 

When they calmed down a little, Chara reached over and wiped Y/N’s face with a corner of the blanket that she had been holding.

“Are you really okay, Y/N?” 

“Yeah, I think the flowers were really soft, so I don’t hurt at all.” Y/N’s body shakes as she coughs again, “I still don’t feel very good though.”

“You’re still sick.” Chara stands up and helps Y/N too, “We need to find a way out of here, come on.” Taking careful steps, they make their way to a wall and start walking around to try to find a tunnel leading up hopefully. A clatter startles Y/N out of her careful searching.

“What was that?” She whimpers a little when Chara lets go of her hand and bends down.

“Oh, it’s that gun.” Chara picks it up and peers at it through the dark, “It doesn’t look like it shot anything when we fell, that’s a good thing.” They put it in their waistband and grabbed Y/N’s hand again to keep walking.

“Hey Chara?” Y/N’s voice cuts through the quiet eventually, “You wouldn’t actually shoot that guy, would you?” It’s quiet again when Chara doesn’t respond. They continue like that for a long time. 

Eventually, they find an opening in the wall and decide to go through, even though it goes down a little bit. Maybe it’ll lead to another tunnel that will go up? Who knows, Chara just knows they need to get out of there soon or else they’ll starve to death. Both of their stomachs have been rumbling a little, but thankfully sweet little Y/N hasn’t complained. It’s not the longest they’ve gone without food anyways. They won’t last forever though. 

The tunnel opens up into another cave with another hole in the ceiling. It must be afternoon now because it seems like it’s brighter so they can see more of the cave. On the far side is what looks like a doorway, more light is coming from around the corner of it. 

“I think that’s the way out, come on, Y/N.” Chara tugs the lagging child.

“Chara my feet are really tired. Can we take a break?” Y/N wheezes out and drags her feet along the ground next to the blanket to show just how tired they are.

“They can sleep when we get outside. There could be dangerous things down here, we don’t want to be eaten by anything, right? What if a bear lives here?” 

“That would be baaad.” Y/N agrees and nervously picks up her pace to be closer to Chara, coughing a little, “What if there are monsters in here?” Chara laughs.

“There’s no such thing as monsters, silly.” 

“Is someone there?” A deep voice echoes through the cavern, causing the kids to freeze in their tracks. From around the corner comes a giant of a creature. Y/N’s eyes stare at the fluffy feet that are probably the size of their head, then travel up the purple robe(?), glancing briefly at the clawed paws that hang anxiously at the thing’s chest, and finally her little eyes meet the round eyes that are staring right back at them. Chara’s eyes go straight to the long horns on top of the thing’s head, their scream startles Y/N more than the fact that they shove her behind them. The gun is quickly fumbled from their pants and pointed shakily at the thing in front of them.

“STAY AWAY!!” Y/N can feel Chara shaking and that makes her own fear lessen just a little as she wraps her arms around Chara to support them. The goat man raises his eyebrows along with his han- paws. 

“Children, it’s okay, I’m not going to hurt you. My name is Asgore, I’m the caretaker of these ruins. I was just coming to see if anyone fell down the hole today.”

“Do people fall down here often?” Chara doesn’t put the gun away.

“Often enough that I need to check every day. Although, you are the first children that have fallen down here in a long time. Are you okay? That is a terribly long fall. Perhaps you would like a cup of tea to relax?” His smile is kind and Y/N finds herself drawn to him immediately.

“I want some tea, Chara. He seems really nice?” She whispers up and Chara’s arms lower a little and frowns in thought.

“Are you going to feed us lots of food so we’ll be fatter when you eat us?” Asgore’s laugh bounces pleasantly in their ears in response.

“By the Angel, no! I do not eat humans, you do not need to worry.”

“What do you eat?” Y/N asks curiously.

“A lot of snails actually.” Is the strange reply, the kids giggle to each other in surprise. Someone who likes snails probably isn’t too bad of a person. Chara puts the gun back in their pants.

“Tea sounds ok, if you can tell us how to get out of here afterwards.” Chara takes Y/N’s hand and lets her come out from behind.

“If you would like me to. Follow me, I will lead you through the catacombs.” He smiles and walks through the doorway, further into the cave. Chara looks at Y/N who gives them a small smile. She really feels like she can trust this goat man. 

The two kids follow him through various hallways while he explains why there are so many puzzles. They meet lots of other kinds of monsters which Y/N and Chara are both quick to befriend. So far, monsters just feel different from grown up humans, like you just know you can trust them. Asgore guides them to a house at the end of all the puzzles and he lets the children go in first. 

The house is so cute! There are little yellow flowers everywhere and it is very warm. 

“Have a seat while I prepare the tea.” Asgore pulls out two chairs for them at the table and disappears into the kitchen. Y/N and Chara make themselves comfortable and wait.

“This is so fun, Chara! I had so much fun playing in all the flowers. And everyone’s been so nice. I really hope we get to see that pink ghost again soon, they were cool.” Y/N’s feet swing back and forth happily.

“Yeah, it’s been nice not to have to worry. How have you been feeling?”

“My throat is really scratchy.” Y/N rubs her sore throat and coughs a little to try to make it better.

“It’s probably from all the coughing, try not to do it so much. You’re probably thirsty too.” Chara pats Y/N’s head, “It’s a good thing we met Asgore, maybe he has medicine for you.” 

“Are you sick, small one?” Asgore reappears, carrying a tray with tea and cups on it. He sits in the largest chair as the children nod.

“Yeah, she’s been sick for a few days, but I haven’t been able to get any medicine for her yet. Do you have anything?” Chara asks.

“Actually, Monster Food is magical.” Asgore says mysteriously as he pours the tea.

“It is?” Y/N whispers in awe, much to the goat man’s delight.

“Yes it is; when monsters make food, they think of all the kind and good things in the world and the food hears it. When the food hears about how good and kind the world is, it wants to be good and kind too, so when people eat it it tries to do good things for them like healing!” He finishes his story by handing a cup to each of the children while they look at the liquid like it’s the most amazing thing in the world. Neither of them move to drink it though.

“So if I drink it, then I won’t be sick anymore?” Y/N basically sparkles at the thought.

“Well, you might still be sick, but it will help it not be so painful and give your body more energy to be able to fight the sickness.” Asgore beams when Y/N immediately tries to chug the whole thing without another word, “Oh my, please be careful, it’s hot!” 

Y/N places the cup down when she’s done and gives him the biggest grin, “It’s okay! The magic healed me as soon as it burned my tongue!” This pulls a hearty laugh from Chara and a surprised chuckle from Asgore.

“You had that much faith that I was telling the truth?” Y/N nods at him, her eyes shining happily.

“Of course! You’re an actual REAL monster, so why would you lie about magic being real? You’re too nice for that.” 

Asgore smiles happily at that and glances at Chara, who is calmly sipping their own drink and admiring Y/N’s ability to judge who and when to trust. 

“Well, I am glad to hear that. May I ask what your names are?” 

“My name is Chara, and this is Y/N.” Chara takes their role as the oldest in this interrogation.

“Howdy, Chara and Y/N!” Y/N giggles at his loud reply, “I am very happy to meet you. How did you fall down here?”

“We were running away from the police and it was dark so I didn’t see the hole.” Chara spins the dregs of their tea around the cup absently, “They wanted to put us in foster homes, but then we might be separated and we don’t want that.”

“So you don’t have parents.” Asgore frowns sadly and Y/N reaches over to pat his paw.

“It’s okay, Mr. Asgore. Our mom and dads just wanted to leave, it happens sometimes. Chara and I won’t leave each other though, so we’re just fine!” She smiles up at him and his soul aches for these children who have grown up thinking it’s fine that they were just left.

“Well I don’t know why anyone would want to leave two wonderful children such as you.” Chara blushes at the compliment and squirms in their chair.

“Yeah, well, it happens.” They mumble into their tea as they hide their uncomfortableness pretending to drink some more. There is a moment of silence as they each think about it. Finally, Asgore clears his throat.

“Well, you could stay here,” he is rather startled when two pairs of wide eyes snap to attention, “that is if you have nowhere else to go. I know you said you wanted to get out of the caves, but I won’t make you leave if you don’t want to.” Y/N gasps and covers her mouth, head snapping to look over at Chara, unsure about what to do. Chara stares hard at the monster, deep in thought. 

. . . “I don’t know.” Is Chara’s answer when they finally get around to responding. Asgore nods.

“Why don’t you sleep on it? It’s rather late by now, I have a room that you could share for the night and you can leave in the morning if you want.” He stands up with a patient smile and gestures for them to follow. The kids quietly rise and trail after him down the hallway to one of the doors. “This is the room. Mine is the one right next to this one if you need anything.”

“Thank you.” Chara mumbles, grabbing for Y/N’s hand.

Awkward silence.

“Well, goodnight children.” Asgore brushes a paw across both of their heads and heads back towards the kitchen, probably to clean up. Chara twists the doorknob and guides Y/N inside. There are two beds there but both kids climb onto one of them to cuddle under their blanket, not wanting to be apart. 

More silence, broken occasionally by a small cough from Y/N.

. . . “Chara?” The smallest whisper.

“Hm.” 

“What are we going to do?”

“Mhm.” noncommittal.

“He is really nice.”

“Mhm.” agree.

“Kinda like a dad…”

“Hm.” 

More silence.

“Chara?”

“Go to sleep Y/N. I don’t want to talk about it right now. Let’s talk about it in the morning.” 

“Oh… ok.”

More silence.

A cough.

...

“Chara?”

A sigh, “what?” 

“I love you.”

The kids hold each other tighter in the darkness and drift to sleep.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I kept re-reading this chapter, wondering if I made Y/N too childish for a nine year old, but my youngest sister is that age and she acts even younger so... I think it's fine.
> 
> Also, I really love Asgore a lot. I think he's undervalued in the actual game. I think he knows more than we assume and is stronger than he shows, and braver than a lot of people believe. Unpopular opinion: I think he and Toriel should get back together in every AU, they both did things that weren't great and they both deserve forgiveness. I'm not a Soriel shipper
> 
> Oh also: In this version of Underswap, Adults usually fall down instead of children (I swapped it, get it?) Except for Frisk, and now Y/N and Chara. I made it this way because I don't believe Toriel as a mother could bring herself to kill children, even in this swapped personality situation.


	5. Chapter 5

Y/N woke up before Chara for once. She didn’t want to, she was so cozy for the first time in her life. Can she ever remember being this comfy? Was this what her bed felt like at mom’s house? Maybe it doesn’t matter.

She slowly slips out of the bed, careful not to wake Chara up, and tiptoes over to the door. Gently slipping out, she begins to wander around the little house with wonder. Everything was so organized and cute! She didn’t dare touch anything in case she wasn’t allowed to. 

Asgore was watering the flower pots in the sitting room when a little cough caught his attention. He glanced down to spot Y/N and smiled. 

“Good morning, child! How did you sleep?” 

“Really good.” She mumbles back at him, rubbing the sleep out of her eyes. 

“Would you like some breakfast? I’m not very good at it, but I can make a decent enough pie.” 

“Yes please.” Y/N beams up at him and he encourages her to help him make it. By the time the pie is ready, Chara has made an appearance and sat at the table to watch them. They all make pleasant conversation while eating, Y/N regals them both with tales of her dreams, making the other two laugh with how absurd they are. Even Chara, who has heard all of these dreams before, laughs in the light atmosphere. 

Asgore leans back in his chair when the pie is gone, “Thank you for helping me make the pie, Y/N. It tastes much better with company.”

“It was really good! It was the best thing I have eaten in my WHOLE life, except for chocolate cake.” She beams proudly and pats her happy tummy.

“It was good.” Chara supplies when Asgore looks over at them. 

“Well now that it is over, perhaps you would like a tour of the Ruins? They are not very large, but I believe two energetic children such as yourselves can find something entertaining in them.” 

“Actually, Mr. Asgore,” Chara interrupts when he goes to stand up, “Show me how to exit the Ruins.”

“Oh, have you decided to leave then?” Asgore seems to droop sadly.

“I have. Y/N should stay here though, I think it would be much better-”

“NO!” Y/N slams her hands on the table and coughs a little before setting a stare at Chara, “You stay here with me!” 

“I don’t want to stay here, Y/N. But if you like Mr. Asgore so much, I think he would be a good da-”

“NO!” Y/N basically screams in an effort to cut Chara off, “You can’t leave me! I won’t let you!”

Pooor Asgore stands between the two children with his hands out, unsure how to settle the argument without making it worse for either child.

“Y/N, I’m not staying.” Chara straightens determinedly. 

Y/N’s lips tremble for a second, then she shoves Chara and runs to the bedroom door to slam it shut. The other two stand in place awkwardly for a minute before Chara clears their throat.

“The exit, Asgore… please.”

“Perhaps you should try talking to them again? Maybe reconsider staying here?”

“. . . No, it doesn’t feel right for me to stay here. I want to keep going.” They look up at him, “It's not that I don’t like you. I think you’ll be a great dad for Y/N, I just don’t really want parents anymore.” 

“I see.” Asgore looks down at this child sadly, wondering what could have happened to them to make them uncomfortable with having an adult take care of them, “Let me pack some things for your journey.” 

While Asgore packs some food and extra clothing in a sack for them, he explains that outside the Ruins is a world full of monsters who will want to use their soul to escape since they need seven souls to break the magic barrier keeping them trapped. He says that they’ll be safe for now since they’re still a kid, but when they grow up it’ll be different. 

Chara asks if there is a way for a human to just cross the barrier. Asgore reluctantly tells them that they could if they use the soul of a boss monster.

“But promise me that you will not harm anyone. Monsters are regular living beings just trying to live their lives. You do not need to become a killer, another human will fall down one day, we just have to be patient.”

“Okay.” Is all that Chara says and then follows Asgore down to the basement. They throw one last look at the bedroom to see if Y/N would come out to say goodbye, but the door remains firmly shut. It hurts more than they will ever admit. 

“There should be a path leading from here to Snowdin. If you meet someone who likes bone puns, tell them that the man behind the door sent you. I’m sure he’ll take care of you from there.”

“Okay.” Chara glances disinterestedly at the hallway walls.

“And if you meet the Queen, tell her- . . . Y/N?” Asgore stops when they turn the last corner, Y/N is standing near the door waiting for them. 

“I’m going with you.” Y/N says, looking Chara straight in the eye. 

“No, you’re going to stay here with Asgore, he’ll take much better care of you than I can.” 

Y/N shakes her head and walks over to take Chara’s hand, “You’re my family, Chara. I will follow you wherever you go, do whatever you do. Okay?” 

“Are you sure?” Y/N nods and Chara squeezes her hand, “Alright, you can come with me then.” 

Asgore figured this was going to happen; these two remind him of his own children who would never be separated by anything. 

“Are you two sure you want to leave?” He asks, he’s still sad about it afterall.

Y/N goes over and hugs one of his fuzzy legs, “It’s okay, Mr. Asgore. We’ll come visit!”

“I’ll have some tea waiting.” He chuckles and then opens the door for them.

“SNOW!!!” Y/N rushes out as soon as she sees the cold powdery stuff. 

“Thank you.” Chara smiles at Asgore before following their sibling. 

The world ahead of them is a beautiful winter wonderland. The colors seem so bright, and it’s cold but not too much. There’s a path just like Asgore said and Chara starts walking down it.

Y/N keeps up with Chara while also taking time to run around trees and shake snow off of bushes, and just generally have fun. She wonders if it’s Christmas down here, it wasn’t Christmas back at home but maybe this place has a different time? 

Part of Chara wants to tell Y/N to stop making so much noise, while another part wants to join her. Snow was always really fun, but Asgore said there will be other monsters around here. And even though he said everyone was usually friendly, especially to kids, they still need to be careful about strangers. The neutral route sounds the best in this situation: don’t tell Y/N to stop, but don’t encourage her either.

“Look at me, Chara!” Y/N calls over, when Chara looks Y/N can be found standing on top of a gate over a bridge over a gaping hole in the ground!

“Y/N, how did you get up there??” Chara looks up at them from underneath when they reach the bridge. 

“I climbed!” Comes the giggled reply.

“Okay, well come down now. We need to get to town before it gets too cold.”

. . .

“Um.” Y/N looks around frantically, “Um, I can’t get down.”

“Just come down the same way you went up.” 

“I can’t, it’s too high! What if I fall?” 

“I’ll catch you, don’t worry.”

“need a hand?” Someone says behind Chara, startling them into whipping around to look at the intruder. Slouching there is a tall skeleton wearing an orange hoodie with his hands in his pocket.

“Who are you?” Chara asks, the skeleton shrugs.

“‘m papyrus, papyrus the skeleton. who’re you?”

“Chara, the human.” Chara relaxes a little when the skeleton chuckles.

“that’s hilarious.” His skill lifts a little and he looks up at the kid sitting on the fence, “and you?” 

“My name is Y/N!” She waves quickly, but then returns her hand to its business of keeping her secured to the wood.

“are you stuck?” 

“Yeaaahh.” Y/N sighs.

“She could get herself up, but not down.” Chara rolls their eyes at the idea.

“i’ll ask again then, need a hand?” Papyrus grins down at Chara again.

“Yes please.” Chara doesn’t know what changed, but even though his mouth didn’t move, he seemed almost gleeful as he draws out one hand from his pocket and hands an object to them.

After a moment of confusion, he pulls his other hand out of his pocket and waves it at the children, it’s just a stump though, Chara is holding his hand.

Chara laughs so hard they double over, Y/N covers her eyes with a horrified screech.

“Your hand!!! Put it back on!!” She protests, but Chara is laughing too hard to hand it back to the joyful skele, “It’s gross! Put it back- oh!” Since her hands are busy holding her eyes shut, she didn’t realize she was leaning back a little too far. One moment she’s sitting uncomfortably high, the next she’s taking a terrifying plunge towards the ground. 

Chara is caught in that horrible moment between happiness and terror where you can’t do anything but stare in disbelief as everything goes horribly wrong.

Papyrus shoves his hands back in his pockets and watches it happen confidently.

Meanwhile, a blur of blue so fast you would almost think it teleported, another skeleton appears out of nowhere and stands underneath Y/N, just in time to easily catch her in his arms.

“MWEH HE HE!!” He stands as tall as he proudly can after his sucessful interception.

“heh, ten points bro.” Papyrus leans against the gate easily while Chara stares in disbelief at the small blue-clad skeleton holding their sister who is looking up at his face in awe.

“EVERYTHING IS OKAY NOW, THE MAGNIFICENT SANS IS HERE!” He gives another funny laugh.

“You saved my life.” Y/N whispers.

“OF COURSE I DID! SAVING LIVES IS WHAT FUTURE MEMBERS OF THE ROYAL GUARD DO.” He sets her down on her feet, but she keeps a hand clinging to the edge of his shirt. 

“You’re my hero.” She practically sparkles.

“MWEH?” Her hero blushes a little bit and his eyelights actually sparkle, “IT-IT’S NO PROBLEM, REALLY. ANYONE WOULD HAVE DONE IT, I’M SURE!” The two stand there sparkling at each other while their siblings watch on.

“They’re so bright.” Chara grins.

“yah, this is my super cool bro, sans.” Papyrus agrees, “but anyways, what are a couple of human kids doing out here?”

“We’re trying to get to Snowdin.” Chara hands his hand back to him.

“HUMANS??” Sans looks between the two kids.

“oh really? we were just about to head that way ourselves. wanna come with?”

“Sure, we’re looking for a guy who ‘likes bone puns’. We were told he’d help us.”

“YOU TWO ARE REALLY HUMANS??” Sans picks up Y/N and studies her giggling face as she nods.

“bone puns are pretty humerus. tibia honest, i don’t know anyone who doesn’t like ‘em, and there’s no way that’s a fibula.” He looks really proud to Chara.

“PAPYRUS!!” Sans screeches indignantly, “CEASE YOUR ANNOYING WORD PLAY AND HELP ME BRING THESE HUMANS TO OUR PRISON!” He tucks Y/N under an arm and starts marching towards town, Y/N is laughing so hard she has tears freezing to her eyelashes. 

“Prison?” Chara echoes nervously, “Hey stop!” They go to chase after Sans but Papyrus puts a hand on their shoulder.

“don’t worry, i happen to be the resident bone-pun-loving guy. and prison is just an alternate word for ‘spare room’ if i know my brother, which i do. you guys will be fine.” He starts following the other two at a leisurely pace.

“Are you sure?” Chara itches to chase after their sibling to make sure they’re really alright.

“yeah, besides, it’s illegal to hurt children down here. my bro’s just really excited to see humans for the first time. he’ll probably make you do some puzzles but you look smart so i’m sure you’ll get through them. just do me a favor and play along, yeah?” He looks down at the kid walking nervously next to him.

“Yeah… I guess we’ll trust you for now. You’ve got my sister held hostage anyway.” 

Papyrus chuckles as Chara finally can’t take it anymore and runs down the trail to catch up to the other two, following the sound of boisterous laughter and loud story telling.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Papyrus didn't do anything while Y/N was falling because he knew Sans saw it happening when he was coming to check on Papyrus' station. Blue was already running to catch her before she even knew she was falling. 
> 
> I am currently writing two fics at once, but I'm going to try to give both of them the attention they deserve since they're both really good (in my opinion) 
> 
> Also, I just reread the previous chapter notes and the tags and I apologize? It seems that I only write this one past midnight and my brain loses it's filter sometime around 1. I'll fix it.
> 
> Hope you enjoyed this chapter! Let me know what you think in the comments


	6. Chapter 6

Y/N is having the time of her life! This blue skeleton, Sans, carries her around and shows her little puzzles that he made. Chara follows them and solves the puzzles while everyone else watches. At some point, Y/N wiggles her way to sitting on his shoulders, arms wrapped around his head to hold on, squealing in delight every time he jogs a little. 

It looks like Chara is having fun too. Even though they didn’t want to admit it in the beginning, Y/N can see the small smile on their face every time they solve a new puzzle after much cheering from herself and her new friend. 

The tall skeleton, Papyrus, is also very nice. He always has a really funny joke to share and likes hanging behind the group when they head towards a new puzzle. At one point, they arrive at a table with tacos arranged on a plate! Y/N’s stomach rumbles and she pats Sans’ head.

“I’m hungry.” She points at the tacos and Sans marches over to them.

“I SEE THAT YOU HAVE NOTICED MY SPECIAL HUMAN-CATCHING TACOS! THEY ARE SO DELICIOUS, THAT ANYONE WHO DARES TO EAT THEM WILL BE SO DISTRACTED BY THE EXQUISITE FLAVORS, I WILL BE ABLE TO CAPTURE THEM WITHOUT ANY STRUGGLE!”

“Wooooow, can I have one?” Y/N asks, drooling in anticipation.

“OF COURSE! THEY AREN’T EXACTLY FRIENDSHIP TACOS, BUT THEY WILL DO FOR NOW.” He reaches out to grab one, but Papyrus grabs his wrist. 

“but bro, if they eat them now, they’ll be too distracted by the greatness that they won’t be able to finish your puzzles.” Papyrus eyes the food, “and besides, if they eat these then there won’t be any for any other human that comes.” 

“YOU ARE RIGHT. SIGH. I AM SORRY SMALL HUMAN FRIEND, I WILL MAKE YOU TACOS THAT ARE EVEN BETTER ONCE I TAKE YOU TO OUR PRISON, MWEH...” 

“That’s okay, onward to tacos!” Y/N points down the path and the two sprint to their next destination. 

“Are they really that great?” Chara asks, trying to pick up a taco to look at it. It’s frozen to the table.

“they’re as indescribable as they are indigestible.”

Y/N notices that they’ve gone a little too far ahead of Chara for her tastes, “Hey Mr. Sans? Can we wait for Chara?” 

“HM? OH, OF COURSE!” He stops and plucks Y/N from his shoulders to place her on the ground, “I ALWAYS FORGET THAT NOT EVERYONE IS AS FAST AS ME, EXCEPT FOR CAPTAIN ALPHYS!” 

“Who is that?” 

“THE CAPTAIN OF THE ROYAL GUARD, SHE IS TRAINING ME TO BECOME A MEMBER ONE DAY!” He strikes a heroic pose, “SOON, I WILL BE RECOGNIZED THROUGH THE WHOLE WORLD AS THE MAGNIFICENT SANS, MEMBER OF THE ROYAL GUARD, AND CHEF EXTRAORDINAIRE!! NO ONE WILL LOOK DOWN ON ME EVER AGAIN.” 

“heh, good one bro.” Papyrus saunters up.

“MWEH!!! NO, I DID NOT MAKE A PUN, YOU STOP THAT RIGHT NOW!” Sans points a scolding finger up at his brother.

“no need to get short with me.” a lazy grin spreads on his face when his smaller brother swats his arm.

“NOT IN FRONT OF THE HUMAN, I DON’T WANT YOU RUINING THEM.”

“Yeah!” Y/N chimes in, pointing a finger up at him too, “If you ruin my childhood, I’ll grow up with too many shortcomings.” The pointing finger turns into a finger gun accompanied with an exaggerated wink.

Papyrus beams.

Sans screams in horror, “DON’T TELL ME IT’S TOO LATE?” Y/N giggles and gives Papyrus a high five.

“Too late for what?” Chara finally arrives on the scene.

“we were just discovering y/n’s talent for punnery.” Papyrus supplies.

“Uuuugggghhh, noooooooo.” Chara groans and drags a hand down their face, “Puns are the WORST.”

“THANK YOU!” Sans huffs in satisfaction. 

“Puns are the beeeesssssst.” Y/N skips around her sibling with a mischievous grin. 

“huh, i thought she woulda gotten it from you?” Papyrus tips his head curiously, “you laughed at my hand prank earlier.”

“Oh yeah, pranks are great.” Chara shoves Y/N away playfully when she groans and flops against them in despair, “Y/N hates them though, she’s always been a bit of a crybaby though. Things scare her too easy.” 

“It was not funny when you tied a stick in my hair, I thought a bug or something was trying to get me!” Y/N shivers at the memory and Chara grins. 

“You didn’t even notice for half the day until that kid said you had something in your hair.” 

“HOW RUDE!” Sans is offended in Y/N’s behalf.

“Right?” Y/N throws her hands up and Papyrus is fond of the way it reminds him of Sans, “I went the whole day looking like-” Her rant is interrupted by a coughing fit. 

“Y/N, are you ok?” Chara is back into worried sibling mode and hurries to her side, “You haven’t been coughing as much, but Asgore said the tea wasn’t a cure. We need to get you some more.” 

Y/N nods tiredly, Papyrus looks closer and can see now how their skin is more pale than Chara’s, except for her frostbitten nose, and Y/N has heavier bags under her eyes, “she sick?”

“I’M SO SORRY, IF I HAD KNOWN I WOULD HAVE MADE AN EXCEPTION FOR MAKING YOU COMPLETE THE PUZZLES!” Sans fusses a bit, “WE’LL HAVE TO SKIP THE REST AND GO STRAIGHT TO THE- NO, WE’LL SKIP THE PRISON TOO, I CAN MAKE TEA!”

“that’s a good idea, some warm food and drink and some rest should work, probably.”

“Probably?” Chara eyes the two carefully.

“well it’s not like i’ve ever helped a sick human get better before.” Papyrus shrugs. 

“LET’S GO AND GET THE HUMANS OUT OF THE SNOW, I’LL GO AHEAD AND DISABLE THE REMAINING PUZZLES!” Sans starts a quick march down the path again.

Y/N tries to follow him, but it seems like all the fun of the day on top of her remaining illness is finally catching up to her, so she wobbles and coughs tiredly. 

“Get on my back, Y/N, I’ll carry you.” Chara grabs Y/N’s hand to make her stop walking. Y/N looks at Chara tiredly, then her gaze drifts to Papyrus who is standing there awkwardly.

“Can Papyrus carry us?” She asks. Papyrus looks startled at the request.

“He doesn’t want to, leave him alone.” 

“Please?” Y/N tries to give her puppy eyes, but it’s ruined by a sneeze. 

Chara sighs, “Come on, Y/N.” They turn around to give Y/N access to their back. 

“Wee~” Y/N exclaims happily moments before a startled Chara is scooped up alongside her. Now they both sit snugly in the crooks of Papyrus’ arms. 

“You don’t have to carry me, I can walk by myself.” Chara feels their face heat up in embarrassment.

“nah, wouldn’t be fair, would it?” Papyrus starts following the path Sans took, “‘sides, i have longer legs so we’ll get there faster.”

“Thank you~” Y/N hugs his neck and his cheeks turn a little orange.

“I guess you’re right.” Chara sighs and settles in for the ride. It’s kind of interesting being up this high, and Y/N is having a blast. As fun as it was to ride on Sans for a bit, it’s nice to be able to lean on Papyrus’ shoulder and just watch the trees and bushes pass by. It’s nice and relaxing. 

. . .

“so,” Papyrus tries to start up a conversation, but it seems like both the kids have conked out for the ride. That makes him jealous, he’s long overdue for a nap but his older brother skills are called upon once more as he carries the children home.

They seem like okay kids, they remind him of him and Sans in little ways. Chara is guarded with a mischievous side, but also thoughtful. Y/N seems like the kind of person to trust first, ask why later, but she’s also attentive to her older sibling and has the potential to grow up with a level head. What are they doing in a place like the underground when Y/N is so sick? He can take a guess, but it’s not a very nice one. 

Chara wakes up just as they cross the final bridge into town, and they stare at every monster they pass. They’re getting plenty of stares back which makes Papyrus wish he could teleport straight to the house, but he doesn’t want to scare the two. 

“welp, welcome to snowdin.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> One of the most creative lines I've ever come up with is in this chapter. I wrote it 24 hours ago and I'm STILL proud of my midnight creativity


End file.
